Everyone talks about change in the New Year like you have to. Like a new year on the calendar marks a time where you are suddenly going to wake up and choose to be a different person. So you set goals, you have expectations and hopes. You hold onto hope that this will be the year you change or something in your life will.

Join a gym. Lose weight. Eat healthier. Stop drinking. Stop smoking. Be in a relationship. Get over your ex. Save money. Try a new hobby or join some group. Travel more.

You write down resolutions (some you won’t achieve.) Then you feel slightly defeated when you don’t amount to it or a month goes by and suddenly it’s Feb you haven’t seen the results you wanted or the outcome you were hoping for.

When you focus too much on where you want to go rather than where you are, you’ll never get there.

We think we have to suddenly make a giant change in our life just because it’s a new year. But change isn’t about one big step it’s about the little ones that lead us to somewhere better.

Babies can’t run before they learn to walk so why would you tackle your resolutions or goals any differently?

A new year doesn’t mean suddenly waking up and being a new you, it means making the choice to want to take the proper steps towards the person you want to become.

Just because the calendar changed doesn’t mean suddenly you are going to.

You’re going to wake up on January 1st and it’s going to feel like any other day of the week. The only difference is the pressure you put on yourself to be somewhere by a certain time.

Change doesn’t happen overnight. And there isn’t going to be some ah-ha moment where it’s clear you’ve done it. But when enough times passes, one day you are going to look back and realize where you were maybe six months ago, maybe a year ago and then you’ll either see you’ve made progress or you’re in the same place.

If it’s losing weight or eating healthier pay close attention to what you put into your body.

If it’s going to the gym more hold yourself accountable when you want to skip a workout.

Don’t say I’ll just go tomorrow or I’ll eat healthier for my next meal. Think of right now in this moment. Because these moments matter.

If your goal is to save money, ask yourself as you’re about to buy something, ‘do I need this right now?’

The little things matter and every choice we make reflects the outcome of what we get. If you aren’t happy with the outcome think of what led to that.

When I run a half or a full marathon a lot of people ask me, ‘how do you do it?’ or they say something like I could never. When I’m running I never think about how far I have to go or the finish line. I think of this step right now, this mile, this movement. And eventually, I get there…every time.

You don’t need to enter this new year coming out of the gates running full speed with hopes of some big change everyone can see. Sometimes all it takes are little steps that will get there more effectively. Sometimes change and improvement aren’t measured in benchmarks that others can see. Sometimes the greatest measurement of change is that moment you look at yourself and the mirror and you’re proud of who you’ve become.